The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for applying electrical terminals to a plurality of wire leads, assembling the terminated leads into cavities in a connector housing, and cutting and stripping the wires so the operations may be repeated. More particularly, the terminals are applied to the leads at a first center to center spacing and inserted into cavities in a connector at a second center to center spacing in a housing.
Lead making machines are well known. Generally wires are fed one at a time either manually or automatically to a crimping station where electrical terminals are applied. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,804,603 and 3,686,752. More recently, multi-function machines have been developed which terminate pre-cut and stripped the leads and insert the terminated ends one at a time into cavities in a connector housing whose position is indexed to receive the leads see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,424. The next step was machine which cut and stripped the wire before terminating and inserting see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,087,908. In this patent the wires are still terminated one at a time and inserted into a connector housing one at a time.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,017 represents a major advancement in the art insofar as it discloses an apparatus which terminates a plurality of wires en masse to insulation displacing terminals located in a connector housing. A shuttle is utilized which transports the pre-cut leading ends to a template where the spacing is modified by rolling into thru slots in the template; punches then descend into the slots to push the leads into the terminals in the connector housing below. Other pertinent prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,072, which discloses wire spreading by use of a template and substantial variation of lead length by forming bights in the wires. Leading ends of the wires are then sheared to insure proper length differentiation prior to a termination operation.
None of the prior art cited discloses a machine which can cut and strip a plurality of wires en masse, terminate them en masse, and insert the terminated ends into a connector housing en masse.